REP. MIKE THOMPSON SPEAKS ON RAIL SAFETY
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today spoke on the importance of rail safety and observed a training demonstration during the final day of the 3-day Railroad Hazardous Materials Awareness Training.
BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad hosted this disaster response training in conjunction with Rep. Thompson, Contra Costa County Fire Departments, the Contra Costa County Sherriff’s Office of Emergency Services and the City of Hercules for local first responders to be better prepared in the event of a train derailment or other accident that involves hazardous materials.
“Public safety is priority number one when it comes to transporting hazardous materials,” said Thompson. “I appreciate BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad for working with my office to provide this week’s training to our local responders. While we certainly hope our first responders never have to use what they learned in this training in a real life situation, we need to make sure our first responders have all the information and training they need to quickly, safely and effectively address emergency situations.”
This week’s training is the result of a series of local stakeholder meetings held by Rep. Thompson regarding the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail. During these meetings, it was identified that our local first responders should have greater access to hazardous materials training. Rep. Thompson then worked with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroads to bring the Railroad Hazardous Materials Awareness Training to Hercules.
Rep. Thompson has co-authored and introduced the Crude-by-Rail Safety Act, legislation which establishes comprehensive new safety and security standards for the transport of crude oil by rail. The legislation is designed to help protect communities along the nation’s railway networks. More specifically, the Crude-by-Rail Safety Act would establish new, commonsense federal safety standards for railcars transporting oil across the country. This legislation:
• Establishes a maximum volatility standard for crude oil (propane, butane, methane, and ethane) transported by rail
• Prohibits use of unsafe DOT-111 tank cars, including the removal of 37,700 unsafe cars off the rail network
• Establishes the strongest tank car standards to-date
• Requires comprehensive oil spill response planning and studies
• Increases fines for violating volatility standards and hazmat transport standards
• Requires disclosure of train movements through communities and emergency response plans
• Requires railroads to implement a confidential close-call reporting systems
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California’s 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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